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August ANS production down 12% from July Cook Inlet production breaks 15,000 bpd mark in July, up 6.8 percent from June average of 14,135, up from 10,530 bpd in July 2012 Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Alaska North Slope crude oil production averaged 439,152 barrels per day in August, down 11.7 percent from a July average of 497,342 bpd, reflecting scheduled maintenance on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
In Cook Inlet production topped 15,000 bpd in July, up 6.8 percent from June, and showing a steady increase from 10,530 bpd in July 2012.
The largest North Slope volume drop was at the BP Exploration (Alaska)-operated Prudhoe Bay field, which averaged 238,507 bpd in August, down 10.5 percent from a July average of 266,339 bpd, a difference of 27,832 bpd. The largest percentage drop, 17.6 percent, was at the BP-operated Lisburne field, which averaged 24,935 bpd in August, down from 30,257 bpd in July.
ANS August production was impacted by scheduled maintenance work by pipeline operator Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. There were three planned shutdowns during the month, including an 18-hour shutdown during which two fields were completely down — Lisburne for 48 hours and the ConocoPhillips Alaska-operated Alpine field for 24 hours.
Alyeska said the 18-hour shutdown, completed at 1:25 a.m. Aug. 12, included gas building work at Pump Station 4, regulatory leak testing of 27 mainline gate valves and check valves between Pump Stations 7 and 9, and the installation of an additional suction value to the suction header at Pump Station 9. Shorter shutdowns occurred Aug. 28 (for check and remote gate valve testing) and Aug. 30 (to test emergency shutdown procedures).
Alyeska said on its website that pipeline reliability for August was 98.17 percent, compared to an average for the year of 99.58 percent, with one proration during the month impacting the reliability factor.
All fields down Information for the most recent month comes from the Alaska Department of Revenue’s Tax Division which reports North Slope oil production consolidated by major production centers and provides daily production and monthly averages. More detailed data, including Cook Inlet and individual North Slope fields and pools, is reported by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on a month-delay basis.
Production volumes for Prudhoe Bay reported by the Tax Division include satellites at Aurora, Borealis, Midnight Sun, Orion and Polaris, as well as production from the BP-operated Northstar and Milne Point fields.
Reported volumes from Lisburne include Point McIntyre and Niakuk.
Production from the ConocoPhillips-operated Kuparuk River field averaged 109,784 bpd in August, down 14.9 percent from a July average of 128,979 bpd. Kuparuk production includes satellite production from Meltwater, Tabasco, Tarn and West Sak, as well as production from the Eni-operated Nikaitchuq field and the Pioneer Natural Resources-operated Oooguruk field.
AOGCC production data for July shows an average of 12,062 bpd from Nikaitchuq, down 0.5 percent from a June average of 12,117 bpd. Oooguruk averaged 7,476 bpd in July, up 5.1 percent from a June average of 7,114 bpd.
Production from the BP-operated Endicott field averaged 9,538 bpd, down 13.2 percent from a July average of 10,994 bpd. Endicott production includes the Savant Alaska-operated Badami field on the eastern side of the North Slope.
July production from Badami averaged 1,340 bpd, up 4.5 percent from a June average of 1,283 bpd.
Cook Inlet breaks 15,000 bpd barrier AOGCC data shows July production from Cook Inlet averaged 15,099 bpd, up 6.8 percent from a June average of 14,135 bpd. That compares to 10,530 bpd in July 2012 and 10,017 bpd in July 2011.
Since Hilcorp acquired Chevron’s and Marathon’s Cook Inlet assets it has been growing production from existing fields; Cook Inlet Energy has also been growing production from the assets it acquired out of bankruptcy.
The largest July-over-June production increase, in both barrels and percentage, was at the Cook Inlet Energy Redoubt Shoal field, where the company has been reworking existing wells. The field averaged 1,505 bpd in July, up 167.2 percent from a June average of 563 bpd, making the field one of only six in Cook Inlet with production topping 1,000 bpd.
Hilcorp has the most productive field in the basin, McArthur River, which averaged 4,311 bpd in July, up 3.4 percent from a June average of 4,170 bpd.
XTO, an ExxonMobil subsidiary, has the next most productive Cook Inlet field, Middle Ground Shoal, which averaged 2,610 bpd in July, up 4.2 percent from a June average of 2,506 bpd.
Other large fields, all operated by Hilcorp, include: Granite Point, which averaged 2,290 bpd in July, down 1.7 percent from a June average of 2,330 bpd; Swanson River, which averaged 2,165 bpd in July, down 11.6 percent from a June average of 2,449 bpd; and Trading Bay, which averaged 1,364 bpd in July, down 4 percent from a June average of 1,420 bpd.
Two smaller fields, Cook Inlet Energy’s West McArthur River (700 bpd, up 28.7 percent from a June average of 544 bpd) and Hilcorp’s Beaver Creek (154 bpd, up 0.7 percent from a June average of 153 bpd) round out Cook Inlet production.
ANS crude oil production peaked in 1988 at 2.1 million bpd; Cook Inlet crude oil production peaked in 1970 at more than 227,000 bpd.
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